Dragonfly Maid

“So beautiful, and yet—”
“Mysterious.”
“Exactly. Such wondrous little things.”
“I can’t stop looking at it. I’ve just never seen anything like it. The metal is so delicate, as if it’s woven somehow. And the stone. Does it look like it’s getting brighter to you? Does yours do that?”
She flipped her braid to her back and strode toward me, her ivory chemise billowing behind. I thought she was going to pull her own talisman from her neck so we could compare, but instead she covered Mrs. Crossey’s Faytling with her hand. Careful not to touch me, but still blocking my view.
“I’m serious about putting it away. It needs to get used to you before it’ll work properly.”
Mrs. Crossey had mentioned the same thing, but it didn’t make sense. “How does metal and stone get used to someone?”
“Don’t ask me.” She flipped her hand away. “It’s just how it works.”
It wasn’t logical, but nothing about the Fayte Guardians seemed logical. Mrs. Crossey had told me not to fuss with the Faytling. To simply wear it overnight then to wear it to the Queen’s room in the morning.
I’d agreed, but what I really wanted to do was take the thing in my bare hands and see what secrets I could pry out of it. These past few weeks, as my visions became clearer and more intense, the subtle yearning to peer into a past that didn’t belong to me, that desire to borrow a few fleeting moments of comfort, now clawed at me with ferocious hunger.
I tried to get my mind off it by changing the subject. “That ceremony, it’s been happening like that since Boudica’s time?”
Marlie dropped onto her bed. “They used to be far more interesting. The old stories say there were once threats from the other world that required the Lady’s direct intervention, but not anymore. The modern world pushed the sprites and pixies and all their kin too far out of reach.”
“Sprites? Pixies? Is that what the Lady is?”
“Of course not.” Marlie laughed. “Sprites and pixies are dull little things, barely smarter than troll or a goblin. No, the Lady is one of the Ancients. That’s what we call them. Others call them fairies or fay. She told us her people used to live on the island, long ago, before men arrived. They left before Boudica’s time, or at least most of them did. It’s hard to say. She never spoke much about it, and now she hardly speaks to us at all. Just enough to keep the Queen out of harm’s way.”
“Why do they care so much about our Queen?”
Marlie shrugged. “It’s the promise she made to Queen Boudica. As long as there are Fayte Guardians pledged to serve, the Lady will offer her guidance and gifts. It’s the Fayte Covenant.”
“Gifts, like talents?”
“I suppose. But honestly, most Guardians can’t even remember how to use their talents, if they ever had any at all. Mostly what we do is keep the Queen healthy and in good spirits. When more is required, a properly placed guard usually suffices. The time that fellow tried to shoot the Queen when she was pregnant with Princess Vicky, for instance.”
My head snapped up. “I heard about that. Edward Oxford was his name, wasn’t it? The newspapers said he was too simple for ill intent.”
Marlie rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Sure, that was the story. The Fayte Guardians made sure he didn’t succeed. Same thing with that boy Jones, and there were a few others. But this threat, the one Mrs. Crossey has seen, is so vague. It’s strange.”
I turned the Faytling over in my hand. It was all very strange, indeed. “So, after I wear this, what will it do?”
“Hard to say. Some people say they don’t do anything anymore.”
“Anymore?”
She yawned and shrugged. The late hour was catching up to her. “Supposedly the stones are cut from crystals in the Lady’s own realm. They’re supposed to amplify the natural gifts of those with Fayte blood, but like I said, no one really believes that anymore. Mrs. Crossey is about the only Guardian left who does. Most of them think the magic died away when the Lady stopped Converging with us. Some don’t believe it ever existed.”
I held up the jewel and stared. “What do you believe?”
After a long pause, she answered. “I know the legends and I’ve heard the stories, but I’ve never seen anything like what happened at the divining pool today. I don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. How did you do it?”
The awe on her face startled me. “I don’t know. I didn’t try to do anything. I just did what Mrs. Crossey asked me to do.”
She nodded, as though my answer made sense to her. I wish it made sense to me. “So, your Faytling doesn’t do anything?” I asked.
Gently she took hold of her talisman and cradled it in one hand. A dreamy look came over her. “I think it does. When I’m collecting roots and herbs for a remedy, sometimes it sort of glows and I can sense it, as if it’s guiding me somehow.” Then she snapped out of it. “I’m probably just imagining it, though.”
“Maybe, but who’s to say? You can’t be too careful when the Queen gets indigestion.”
That made her laugh, and I laughed, too. It felt surprisingly good. When had I last laughed like that? I couldn’t even remember.
When the room was quiet again, Marlie asked, “If tonight was any indication of the kind of Fayte power inside you, it will be very interesting to see the effect the Faytling has on it. Whatever strengths you already possess, I imagine they’re going to get stronger.”
“My strengths?”
“The things you’re good at. Your gifts.”
I nearly laughed again at that. What was I good at? Not much, unfortunately. Maybe lying. Stealing. Keeping secrets. I smirked but said nothing, just closed my fingers more tightly around the jewel. The visions were already getting stronger, and Mrs.